Why not bid to host ICMGP 2017?

The ICMGP will have its 11th meeting in Edinburgh this year. In 2015 it will move to Je-Ju Island, Korea. We are now seeking bids for ICMGP 2017/2018. As you know, ICMGP is a fantastic, well-established meeting - the delegates are enthusiastic and committed and attendance is always high. Chairing this meeting is both an honour and a joy. Although chairing ICMGP is a significant commitment, it is NOT necessarily a back-breaking challenge. Please consider the following requirements and tips:

The meeting MUST be a stand-alone meeting which recognises and follows the ethos and principals shown in previous meetings. It should also follow a similar format it terms of session timings to previous meetings.

The chair must find a suitable venue for the meeting (6-7 parallel sessions in separate rooms over 5-6 days plus a plenary room for up to 1,200 people) surrounded by affordable hotels and easy access to international travel

The chair must work with both a local and international steering committee to ensure that the running of the meeting is professional and that the agenda is topical, fair and relevant

The chair must work to balance the accounts of the meeting. This will involve coordinating all the logistics of an international conference within a budget defined by the delegate registration fee and income from sponsors and exhibitors. A small seed grant will be made available after the 2015 meeting to help with initial costs.

Any bid should therefore include:

Name of Chair(s)

Host organisation(s)

Location and venue and proposed date (approx)

Confirmation support from other national organisations (government, academia, research organisations, commercial companies)

A proposed local organising committee

A proposed scientific steering committee (which may be based on previous ICMGP committees)

A proposed list of potential sponsors

A summary or tag-line for the 2017 meeting - a specific topic or theme. The 2011 meeting was "Land, sea, air and me" and the 2013 meeting is "Science informing global policy".

If you are at all interested in submitting a bid but are scared of what this might involve, please feel free to chat to myself or to Marcus Pattison (marcus@mercury2013.com). As someone who runs several international meetings a year, Marcus can talk you through what is required both financially and logistically. As a professional conference organiser, Marcus can work with you on a bid for 2017 or can help you find a local conference organiser for you to use. If you have not run a large meeting before, professional conference organisers are your life-savers - they make everything happen for you and know all the potential pitfalls and tricks of the trade to help you run the best meeting possible and their fee is covered within the conference budget.